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You can also pre-order discs from this year's Open Frame. Contact Kerrie Evans at Malone University.

Hidden Liabilities Artistic Statement

HIDDEN LIABILITIES

We started working on this project immediately after last year’s film festival. Our experience last year working on Benedict Sexton was extremely enjoyable, so we figured we ought to make another short. The first idea we developed related to film noir. The film noir genre, especially from the 40s and 50s, make up some of our favorite films, so we wanted to see if we had enough talent to create a similar film. The reason this genre interests us is that it is distinct from other styles of filmmaking with its exaggerated reproduction of life through a dark perspective. There is something about this way of viewing the world that resonates within each of us.

"The most difficult aspect of creating a film noir work is writing the story, especially when it is supposed to be a short film. Short films already take an incredible amount of skill to write well, so a hard-boiled crime story is a good bit tougher. Hopefully we have succeeded with this script; however, we are aware that we do not compare to Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler.

"In making this film, we hoped to push ourselves as directors and writers. We wanted to learn from the many mistakes we made in our previous attempts at filmmaking and to give ourselves many more opportunities to learn. There were many struggles throughout the process, but we have gained valuable instruction in the areas of organization, collaboration, and assertiveness.

"The greatest thing we can offer the audience is a view into the lives of the characters, to show the world through their perspectives so that the audience may see the world in a new light. Perhaps we can also encourage everyone to watch film noir pieces, which account for a significant percentage of the greatest films of all time."

Dusty Jenkins and Michael Popp, Co-Directors

Reel Life Artistic Statement

REEL LIFE

Reel Life is a film inspired by the mentality of three slackers as they are faced with a proposition that could inevitably end in a student’s worse nightmare: failing out.  Although the film has no direct correlation to us as the creators we felt it would be an interesting twist to try to incorporate multiple ideas into one film. The premise of the film simply arose from our everyday discussions about what type, or genre, we should enter into the film festival. Our inspiration for creating Reel Life came naturally to us because it used what we were good at: coming up with ideas and not necessarily picking one. We constructed tens and tens of movie ideas, but there was always one of us who just didn’t not believe the proposal was adequate. Therefore the film was very simple: create a film about the concepts we think about, and then after each one rip each others ideas apart ruthlessly. As we began to brainstorm we had a sudden realization that in fact the most superlative idea would be to combine the different options into one film, and basically document the journey of how it is we came to our final decision.

           

The process was difficult. Three different minds with fairly distinct ideas made the process longer than expected and at some points very trying mentally and physically, but the excitement and enjoyment every day on set was well worth it.  None of us had very much knowledge about the process of filmmaking nor had we been involved with film production, however through the development of the project we began to understand, respect, and appreciate the effort it takes to bring a creation, from just a concept to and on-screen production, into fruition.  We approached our film in an unusual manner because we wanted to investigate what creating a film would be like if we shot, came up with ideas, and constructed as we went. Overall our experience with this filmmaking process was exactly what we were hoping for; to entertain ourselves while trying to create something that would entertain those who watch.

Matt Kiel,

Co-Director

The Memories Within Artistic Statement

THE MEMORIES WITHIN

Sometimes I wish moments could last forever, and that I could live in that moment for just a little bit longer than what it actually lasts. Then I am snapped back into reality, and the stresses of my life come crashing back into my consciousness. Other moments and memories I wish I could erase. They are too painful to deal with. I am a very emotional person, which makes it hard for me to deal with my emotions. I end up holding things in and pushing them aside. I allow myself to live a lie. If I don’t think about something, maybe it didn’t happen. But I can only live this lie until something jolts it back into my memory and I can no longer hide from it. I have to face it. And deal with it. And my emotions explode, uncontrollably. With time, the painful moments lose their power and it is the happy and carefree moments that I try to cling onto.

For Reuben, objects hold memories in this film. His story is told through flashbacks, as he picks up objects and is bombarded by the memories he tried to forget. He is, in a sense, reliving these moments of his life at the flea market. For this reason, I choose to leave the flashbacks in color as opposed to black and white. By the end of the film, Reuben is changed only because these memories came flooding back at him all at once. Memories affect a person from within. Memories shape how we act and react. It creates and molds character. Memories influence how we see the world, how we see strangers, and how we see objects. How we see everything. Our past is forever clinging to us.

  corinne abbiss, director

One Small Candle Artistic Statment

ONE SMALL CANDLE

One Small Candle is the collaboration of footage done over three missions trips to Native American reservations in New York, Florida, Arizona, and South Dakota. When I went on a trip to a native reservation in March of 2010, I was awakened to many problems that i knew were widely overlooked. I've made some awesome friends on these reservations, and I hope to be back soon. I'm not much of a film maker, but I felt God telling me to empty my life savings to buy a video camera. So that's what happened. I'm hoping to start a missions organization around the concept of going to reservations to socialize more than evangelize, and to truly attempt to love the Native Americans instead of pushing ultimatums on them.

This film was difficult for many reasons. First, planning fruitful missions trips while being a full time college student and trying to pay my bills. Secondly, Native Americans are extremely camera shy for many good reasons. Many people have pretended they were helping or doing a service in some way, but many of them end up making films or news reports on Native Americans that only show the negative side of everything on the reservation. So naturally, it’s difficult for them to trust us. I was also using a DSLR camera, primarily used for taking pictures. I’m also not an experienced videographer/director or filmmaker by any means. So filming and editing was quite a learning experience!

         I really hope this film changes the world. I want so badly for Native Americans to be loved, and not viewed as such a fringe of society or second class citizens. In the bible, there’s talk about the importance of healing our land, and I believe this reconciliation is an important part of the process..

steven berkenkemper, 

director 

Customer Satisfaction Artistic Statement

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

When Erin Chilensky and I first came up with the idea for Customer Satisfaction, we were poking fun at ourselves. There have been so many times in our friendship that I have told her that someone did something horrible to me, only to have her respond skeptically, “I don’t think that really happened like that.” She was usually right. The “slight” against me was a result of my perception of events, and not an accurate representation of them. In Customer Satisfaction, I wanted to explore what it would be like for a person to be so wrapped up in her own little world that it would be difficult for her to recognize what other people were feeling and seeing, or even what effect her actions had upon others.

         

The process of making the film was amazing. It was the first time I have worked closely on a film project with non-students, and I think their enthusiasm inspired me and definitely made this film what it is. It’s more or less a workplace comedy, and so the characters are, for the most part, caricatures of people you have no doubt encountered, especially if you have ever worked retail. At the same time, this isn’t a film about the workplace as much as it is a film about the brief encounters we have with others in that kind of environment.

         

And so, when you’re watching this film, I hope that you laugh. I hope that you find the characters a little absurd. But I hope that you won’t be too hard on poor Ledell, who is secretly me, and is secretly Erin, and is secretly all of us at some point in our lives, whether we like it or not.

taylor hazlett,  director

Push Tags Artistic Statement

PUSH TAGS

Push Tags is a documentary that allows the audience a glimpse into the life of a local, young, and upcoming graffiti artist who explains his art, expectations, and ambitions.  I started filming Push Tags back in February as I would hear about local areas that contained Push’s street art.  Never knowing exactly how long Push’s art would remain in the street, I had to document his work soon or it may be removed and lost forever.  Then in March, I became a part of the action as I spent an evening helping to create the art and then ultimately traveling through the Canton night scene documenting the graffiti process.  After a short confrontation with Local Police Officials at our second location, the intensity, and anxieties of the process grew greater.  However, the evening withheld from any further surprises, and left me with a night I would never forget.  Later, I conducted an interview with Push to use as a voice over and story line, and ended the filming process with hours of editing the material. 

As a film maker, I am trying to encourage the audience to become more open to the idea of graffiti.  I want to show that graffiti is not an act of vandalism or defacing public property, but instead an expression of an artist.  Graffiti is far greater then the street art.  It is about the messages that the artists are trying to convey, and also the artists themselves.  It’s difficult to “Stay Up” as an artist or in everyday life, and the best is yet to come is the message I want to convey.

ryan barnett, director

Mansfield Artistic Statment

mansfield

Mansfield, a loose adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Mansfield Park, tells the story of how protagonist Fray Price deals with an unexpected and discouraging surprise during her spring break. As she spends the time writing music with her friend, Ed Bertram, she finds she isn't entirely on her own.

In order to develop the novel into a screenplay, many details had to be cut. In doing this, the script raised a question pertinent to any of Austen’s novels – when the romance is removed, what do we have left? As the excess was stripped away, the film ends up presenting an answer to one of the lesser conflicts found in the original novel – how to cope with loneliness.

In making the film, I wanted to convey the relationships Fray has with the people in her life. She is extremely tight with her brother, casual with Ed, and uneasy with Henry. While Fray may seem like a 'shadow' to Ed as she tries to adapt to living in Mansfield, she is affected by these relationships and learns to grow as a person because of them.

I hope you get a sense of the nuances found in Austen’s work through a more updated and easily-relatable perspective. “Dramedy” is personally my favorite storytelling genre because of its tendency to be "true to life;" conveying both the sincerity and humor in one's situation. I hope you find the blend of emotion and lightheartedness that the actors brought to the film an appealing aspect.

Working on this film was a truly a great experience, and I, along with the rest of the Mansfield cast and crew, hope you enjoy.

Kristin Rayz,

Director

Never a Bride Artistic Statement

never a bride

Many horror films deal with dark subject matter.  Whether it is a young girl possessed by an evil spirit or a psychopath wearing a leather mask and wielding a chainsaw, the outcome is usually a dark, chilling, and sometimes gruesome experience that the viewer might recall the next time they walk into a dark hallway or their car breaks down on a dark country road.  Horror films have the ability to instill a sense of fear in the viewer both during the film and sometimes long after the credits have rolled.

Never a Bride is no exception.  The film is about how the roles of good and evil realistically play out in human nature.  Each character in the film has two sides to them that are revealed as the film progresses.  This is especially true for the central antagonist who physically changes his appearance and seemingly becomes a different person.  I see the antagonist as only one person, however, that has both good and evil churning within him, living from moment to moment never knowing what side of the coin he, or she, will be on.

Evil manifests itself in the most unlikely of places, a lonely bed and breakfast owner and a priest.  Evil and wickedness are real, and horrible things occur every day.  As I strive to be an agent of truth, I believe that is important to shed a light on the wickedness in this world, even if it comes from a friendly business owner or a revered man of God.  George Romero, director of zombie classics like The Night of the Living Dead, put it best when he said he has “always felt that the real horror is next door to us, that the scariest monsters are our neighbors”.  The central message conveyed in the film is that there is corruption in the most righteous of people, darkness in the most holy of places, and perversity in the most sacred of vows.   

kyle mallow,

director

Hatchetmen Artistic Statement

hatchetmen

The idea for Hatchetmen came from a love of period films and crime dramas.  In a mafia film, one can expect Tommy guns, brass knuckles, fedoras and nice suits worn by all.  These are not cliche aspects of the genre, but actual pieces of mafia history that have been embellished on screen in an effort to keep to the way things were.  So naturally, in order to do so, we used these aspects of  1930s crime, but not without prioritizing the key to the film...character.  The goal was to tell an interesting story but through focusing on the characters involved.  What they feel, think and do are so important in creating the film that everything revolved around them.

We shot the entire film in two days in Plain City, Ohio.  We used high end video equipment including a jib to capture the footage exactly how we wanted it.  The large amount of costumes for the film, the guns and even a 1930 Model A Ford gave the actors the world in which to work.  Everything fell right into place because of the entire cast and crew who worked on it in a very professional way.  It was impressive to see everyone do their job as if they were born to do it and in turn make something we can all be proud of.

Movies reach out to audiences and grip them in a way that explores aspects of the truth of life and I hope Hatchetmen speaks to people in that way too.  For the Open Frame audience, I advise you to take it all in.  This includes the wardrobe, guns, settings and most definitely the characters in order to experience it to its fullest.

David Garwood,

Director

STAN Artistic Statement

STAN

We so often misrepresent Satan by either trivializing or romanticizing him, rather than acknowledging the full awful entity that he is.

This film seeks to parody this misrepresentation, along with a healthy dose of fun-poking at Malone campus life.

This would not have been possible without the amazing people who dedicated time and effort on very short notice and the blessing of God. We present to you a film to make you laugh very hard, and, perhaps, think even harder.

Kaitie Fox & Corey Clark,
Directors

Open Frame Wrap Up

The Open Frame Film Fest was an exciting, crowded night of celebrating the good work of hundreds of people producing ten films. You can see more pictures and read more about the event if you facebook like the new OPEN FRAME FILM FEST page.

The films included:

HATCHETMEN

MANSFIELD

NEVER A BRIDE

REEL LIFE

ONE SMALL CANDLE

STAN

PUSH TAGS

THE MEMORIES WITHIN

HIDDEN LIABILITIES

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION


Here's how the awards fell out:

Best Actor - Paul Croce for HIDDEN LIABILITIES

Best Actress - Trisha Landis for CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Best Supporting Acting - Brittany Yeager for MANSFIELD

Best Screenplay - Corinne Abbiss for THE MEMORIES WITHIN

Best Editing - Jordan Grubbs for CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Best Contribution by a Non-Malone Student - Joe Siebert for CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Best Original Score - Jon Lincoln for CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Best Cinematography - Dusty Jenkins for HIDDEN LIABILITIES

Best Directing - Taylor Hazlett for CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Outstanding Achievement in Production Authenticity - David Garwood for HATCHETMEN

Outstanding Achievement in Genre Excellence - Kyle Mallow for NEVER A BRIDE

Outstanding Achievement in Documentary Film - Ryan Barnett for PUSH TAGS

Best Film - Danyella Tonelli, Monica Small and Taylor Hazlett for CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

Hidden Liabilities Trailer

Corinne is in the news now!

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Taylor's In The News...

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Hatchetmen Trailer